Altogether too much joy along with problems!

There's been altogether too much joy here in East Boothbay lately. Too many families coming together; too much wonderful weather; too many trips out to Monhegan to build fairy houses. But so be it. Take it in, breathe deeply, and enjoy. Even the garden threatens to take over.

My grandgirls came here, and then I went up to Vermont to see them again, plus all my boys and their Significant Others, for the first time in a long time. I had ex-in-laws for a visit which was good fun, too, and all my mother's family for a picnic. It's been too good.

So today, I took a friend down to Maine Med in Portland for an MRI because the local hospitals were too busy - not a good sign. There's no diagnosis yet, but she is relieved to have begun a diagnostic process.

And I heard a final story from the Shipyard Cup races. The largest yacht here, Christopher, at 154', has a keel draft of 9', but a centerboard which drops down to a draft of 31'. Thirty one feet is pretty much lowtide depth in much of Boothbay's harbors and coves, which Christopher found out. Apparently she grounded sometime during the race, was pulled off but could not get her board back up. So she had issues finding a place of rest and security. I haven't heard yet whether or not they got her board back up, and I've been speculating on how they could do it.

Divers? I'm sceptical.

I've been thinking that they should hire the crane that lifted one of the tugs finished by Washburn and Doughty after the fire in 2008. It was the crane that Howard Hughes had built to raise the Russian sub sunk off the coast of California, and is reputed to be the biggest in the world. On the other hand, the Navy is dredging the Kennebec as we write, in order to get a new destroyer out of Bath Iron Works with a draft of only 27'. So maybe they could get Christopher up the Kennebec to Bath, and raise her up on one of their giant cranes - to unstick the centerboard. Aah, the woes of boat ownership!

I will let you know what I find out. In the meantime, enjoy these last days of summer!